Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet (3 August 1821 – 3 May 1905) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 clothing manufacturer and Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician.

Barran was the son of John Barran and his wife Elizabeth (née Fletcher), and founded the firm of John Barran and Sons, clothing manufacturers, of Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

. He was a Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for Leeds and the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

 and served as Mayor of Leeds from 1870 to 1871. In 1876 he was returned to Parliament as one of three representatives for Leeds

Leeds (UK Parliament constituency)

Leeds was a parliamentary borough covering the town of Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885....

, a seat he held until 1885, and later sat for Otley

Otley (UK Parliament constituency)

Otley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Otley in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...

 from 1886 to 1895. The latter year he was created a Baronet, of Chapel Allerton Hall in Chapel Allerton in the West Riding of the County of York and Queen's Gate, St Mary Abbots

St Mary Abbots

St Mary Abbots is an historic church located on Kensington High Street , London at a prominent intersection with Kensington Church Street. The present church was built in 1872 by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott in neo-Gothic Early English style. It was the latest in a succession of churches...

 parish, in Kensington in the County of London.

Barran married Ann Hirst (died 1874) in 1842. He married Eliza Bilton, née Brown, in 1878. He had six sons and four daughters. His youngest son Rowland

Rowland Barran

Sir Rowland Hirst Barran was an English Liberal Party politician, Member of Parliament for Leeds North from 30 July 1902 to the General Election of 14 December 1918.Barran was the son of John Barran, a pioneer in clothing manufacture...

 also became a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

. Barran died in May 1905, aged 83, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson John

Sir John Barran, 2nd Baronet

Sir John Nicholson Barran, 2nd Baronet was a British Liberal Party politician.Barran was the son of John Barran and the grandson of Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet. His mother was Eliza Henrietta, daughter of Edward Nicholson. He was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge...

, his eldest son John Barran having predeceased him.

Clothing manufacture

John Barran was a pioneer in the manufacture of ready-to-wear clothing. He moved to Leeds in 1842, and soon opened his own tailoring shop at 30 Bridge End South. By 1851 he had moved to Briggate and in 1856 he had a factory with 20-30 sewing machines. After seeing a bandsaw being used to cut wood veneers in 1858 he introduced its use for cutting cloth, a major innovation. By the 1870s he had 2,000 machines, and in 1904 he employed 3,000 people.

His son Charles took over as chairman of the company in 1903, and another son Rowland

Rowland Barran

Sir Rowland Hirst Barran was an English Liberal Party politician, Member of Parliament for Leeds North from 30 July 1902 to the General Election of 14 December 1918.Barran was the son of John Barran, a pioneer in clothing manufacture...

 became chairman in 1918.

St Paul's House in Park Square, Leeds

Park Square, Leeds

Park Square is a Georgian public square in Leeds, it is one of four notable squares in Leeds city centre, the square is grassed over and is a traditional Georgian park...

 was built as a warehouse for Barran in 1878. It was designed by Thomas Ambler

Thomas Ambler

Thomas Ambler was an English architect, living and working in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Among his surviving works are Grade II listed buildings on the south side of Boar Lane, St James's Hall in New York Street, and the Grade II* listed Moorish factory of St Paul's House in Park Square,...

, and is in Moorish style.